What happened to your retirement savings? Blame the coronavirus and Donald Trump too

No basketball, no hockey, no baseball. And to top it all, no money – or at least, much less after Thursday for just about anyone with investment.

We thought Monday's carnage was bad when stock prices fell sharply since the crash of October 1987. Thursday was worse: the Canadian dollar hit a four-year low, the stock market Toronto fell 12% – its worst day since 1940 – and the price of oil fell another 6%.

Billions of dollars have evaporated in the blink of an eye – $ 830 billion in market value since the TSX summit on February 20 – zapping retirement savings and children's education funds.

In times of crisis and financial turmoil, politicians are expected to at least try to make things better. Around the world, we see many leaders – including ours in Canada – working tirelessly to chop plans, devote resources and communicate aggressively.

Even if we can haggle over whether they overreact or overly accommodating, or if their initiatives miss the mark, we probably think they have the best interest of the public at heart.

But the measures taken by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening, and by Russian and Saudi oil producers a few days earlier, were designed with so little regard for the effects on the rest of the world – or even their own populations – than transforming the already-say economic effects of COVID-19 into a dangerous quagmire.

The fallout will affect us all and may well outlast the coronavirus itself.

First, Russia has refused to join OPEC and cut oil production in response to the coronavirus, which had already lowered prices relentlessly for weeks. Then, not to be outdone, Saudi Arabia threatened to increase production and flood the market.

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This power struggle has brought the already lame economy closer to the world of chaos as it has pushed the TSX and oil prices to worrying depths.

But it was so Monday.

Trump's comments on Wednesday evening were the last drop. By announcing a travel ban with Europe, it sparked a new wave of global panic. When his officials had to spend Thursday going over some of his comments and interpreting others, it only added to the confusion.

The resulting free market crash in Canada has forced our politicians to try to mitigate the damage they barely had the power to prevent, even when they are struggling to deal with a pandemic.

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Ottawa started this week by announcing that it would help struggling businesses borrow money to get through the tough times. More help will come in the federal budget at the end of the month. The Bank of Canada has also taken the extraordinary step of injecting additional money into the financial system – something it has not had to do since the financial crisis of the previous decade. And Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, whose province is feeling the most pain, said his government is planning a massive stimulus package and will offer low-rate loans. interest in business. "We are in free fall right now because of the price war," said Kenney.

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Yes, we have cheap gasoline, but it's cold comfort at this point. The incompetence and carelessness of interested foreign governments has shaken confidence in a world destabilized by COVID-19. As the virus changes the way of life of Canadians, the fall of markets has added a new layer of worry to an already frightening situation. Canadian governments have their work cut out for them.

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